Investing.com – U.S. stock futures rose modestly in after-hours trading on Tuesday, following a moderately positive session on Wall Street as investors hunkered down ahead of key inflation data that is expected to weigh on the interest rate outlook.
Additional comments from the Federal Reserve, as well as the start of the first-quarter earnings season, also kept markets on edge after Wall Street posted a weak start to April and largely treaded water in recent sessions.
by 19:12 ET (2312 GMT) was up 0.05% to 5,262.75 points and up 0.07% to 18,373.50 points. increased by 0.06% to 39,218.0 points.
CPI data set will provide more signals about interest rate cuts
Markets were now focused solely on March data due out on Wednesday. Data is expected to show year-on-year inflation rose slightly to 3.4%, remaining well above the Fed’s annual target of 2%.
This scenario gives the Fed little incentive to cut interest rates early, given that recent data also showed that the US labor market is in crisis.
Several Fed officials have warned in recent weeks that persistent inflation gives the central bank more room to keep rates high for longer.
Wall Street is marking time with Fed minutes, profits are also on tap
Wall Street indexes have traded range-bound in recent sessions, weighed down by profit-taking in heavyweight technology stocks as risk appetite waned in the face of higher, longer-term interest rates.
On Tuesday, the index rose 0.1% to 5,209.91 points and 0.3% to 16,306.64 points. It ended at 38,883.67 points.
Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) fell 2% during the session and hit a one-month low in after-hours trading as cooling artificial intelligence hype led traders to take profits after the stock’s stellar rally.
Reports are also due on Wednesday and are expected to provide more information about the bank’s plans to cut interest rates this year.
Although the Fed reiterated its forecast for a 75 basis point rate cut during the meeting, some Fed officials questioned that forecast, especially in an environment of persistent inflation.
Anticipation of the first-quarter earnings season also supported sentiment as investors waited to see if Wall Street could justify the big first-quarter valuation hike.
Wall Street banks JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:) and Wells Fargo Co. & Company (NYSE:) will begin earnings season on Friday. Quarterly earnings from Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:) and BlackRock Inc (NYSE:) are also due this week.